I rode the marked portion of the bike lane last night around midnight.
* cars were driving down the bike/parking lane
* the bike lane paint strip goes away at lasalle in the northbound lane, and terminates at beltline for the southbound lane. I assume they are still working because spray paint dabs are present on the northbound side. Perhaps it's not officially open yet.
* the bike logo stencils are not yet present. I hope they will help clue people in that they are driving in the bike lane. [note - this draft is 24hrs old - since I started writing this the logos have started showing up]
* people are parking fullsize trucks far enough away from the curb that a bicycle cannot pass without hitting mirrors or crossing the solid white line.
I don't know if having the bike lane will reduce the chances of getting run over or not.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Water bill envelope
I assume this reusable thing must save money/paper when compared to a seperate envelope but I find it annoying. Particularly when humidity is high and the gummed strip sticks to itself when folded up.
I didn't see any mention on the COR website about envelope cost savings. Anyone know if we are saving money on this deal?
I didn't see any mention on the COR website about envelope cost savings. Anyone know if we are saving money on this deal?
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
More notes from the 8/24 city council meeting
I am eating my own dog food at the moment (listening to the .mp3 I uploaded of the Ch16 broadcast from 6pm-10pm). I zipped through the video earlier but didn't pay close attention. On closer listening I have a few more thoughts.
Keffler's car compensation
I completely agree with visitor (is that the right term?) Mr. Morgan's call to re-visit the city's auto allowance for Mr Keffler, and indeed all city employees.
I believe that no one but the city employee should enjoy vehicle benefits; under no circumstances would anyone other than the designated employee use the benefit. And then even when on city business. This means no joyrides, no grocery runs, no dinners and a movie. Perhaps the car could be fitted with a woo-woo so we could always hear where it's going:
I trust that Mr. Keffler and his family drive better than Li'l Sis (or Bubb Rubb, whoever was driving that Supra in the video).
Civility
I appreciate the general civility of council members when dealing with each other, speakers, and visitors. It's better than I expected.
Executive sessions
I'd like to see a sunset provision on the sessions. Audio or videotape those sessions and set them aside for a year or five years. Then publish them on the COR website.
Collections fee last year
Does anyone know what the unusual collections fee was that is not expected to recur during the next budget period?
Is it 3498 - Attorney Collection Fees - $40,000?
Mr. Murphy and open records requests
Sounds like Mr. Murphy would prefer to put a chill on open records requests. I have not made any such requests but highly value the ability to do so. I will take Mr. Keffler's response at face value, that he and his team are dedicated to discussing requests with anyone that wants a real answer. I am less impressed with his subsequent discussion of car allowances.
Keffler's car compensation
I completely agree with visitor (is that the right term?) Mr. Morgan's call to re-visit the city's auto allowance for Mr Keffler, and indeed all city employees.
I believe that no one but the city employee should enjoy vehicle benefits; under no circumstances would anyone other than the designated employee use the benefit. And then even when on city business. This means no joyrides, no grocery runs, no dinners and a movie. Perhaps the car could be fitted with a woo-woo so we could always hear where it's going:
I trust that Mr. Keffler and his family drive better than Li'l Sis (or Bubb Rubb, whoever was driving that Supra in the video).
Civility
I appreciate the general civility of council members when dealing with each other, speakers, and visitors. It's better than I expected.
Executive sessions
I'd like to see a sunset provision on the sessions. Audio or videotape those sessions and set them aside for a year or five years. Then publish them on the COR website.
Collections fee last year
Does anyone know what the unusual collections fee was that is not expected to recur during the next budget period?
Is it 3498 - Attorney Collection Fees - $40,000?
Mr. Murphy and open records requests
Sounds like Mr. Murphy would prefer to put a chill on open records requests. I have not made any such requests but highly value the ability to do so. I will take Mr. Keffler's response at face value, that he and his team are dedicated to discussing requests with anyone that wants a real answer. I am less impressed with his subsequent discussion of car allowances.
Bike route on Grove
The interesting thing about the new, slightly behind schedule bike route on Grove is that it's not primarily about bicycles or bicyclists; it's about "traffic calming". The bicycle lane is a bonus, a pleasant side effect. Grove does not appear to have been planned as a bike route for the purpose of building good, usable bike routes. But there is a strip of area between the parked cars and the now-single-lane road; the result of traffic calming efforts. Let's call it a bicycle path! Ok, I'll take it. I'm glad it's there. Bicycling along Grove has been pretty scary at night, even with my dayglo gear and LED lights. So far I have only seen my wife and I cycling on Grove. Perhaps that will change with the new lane in place.
Apparrently there have been longstanding concerns that there is too much traffic on Grove and that traffic drives too fast. I have only lived directly off and driven on Grove for 1.5yrs so I am no expert on the matter. I have not personally seen evidence that traffic on Grove is excessive or dangerous but I will assume the longer-term residents have seen otherwise. The city's traffic planners called Grove a 'major thoroughfare" and "arterial" in 1962. Now it is referred to as a "major collector street". How much traffic, one wonders, should a street like that carry?
Here is my take on the traffic problems, if there are any exceptional ones, on Grove:
1. drivers rolling through stop signs when there is no cross traffic
2. difficulty of getting through the Grove/Centennial lights. This is intentionally caused by the traffic calming scheme. Does it deter non-residents from using Grove? Maybe. But it also makes it difficult to get back to one's house off Grove after shopping across the street at Highland Terrace's closest grocery store, Kroger.
3. it is not possible to enter Woodhaven Grove park going southbound on Grove; you can only access it by going through the problematic Grove/Centennial intersection. I have seen cars drive the wrong way down the divided end of Grove to get into the park.
4. Southbound traffic on Grove backed up from the Grove/Centennial lights far enough that they block the Grove/Summit intersection.
5. Southbound traffic on Grove that would like to turn right on red trapped in a single lane behind people that want to continue south on Audelia. A curved right turn lane (yield only e, not subject to the Grove/Centennial light) carved out of the unused, grassy SW corner of the intersection would alleviate that problem, and alleviate the backup noted in #4.
See a pattern here? I think the Grove/Centennial intersection is deeply flawed.
Once more, with feeling
I am beginning to think that acerss deliberately misunderstands my position re: RPD and residential burglary.
I'll give it one more go. Perhaps I am either too stubborn or naive to know when it is useless to try to explain.
> I'm glad you cleared up the focus of your dissension with the police
> department, but
I am not bagging on the RPD. I think we have a professional and competent bunch of officers on the street. 100% of the officers I have interacted with have been decent guys, competent, professional, and well-intentioned. I can't vouch for the deskjockey, detective, or leadership types because I haven't met many/any of them.
On the other hand I am not a cop worshipper. I do my part by obeying the law and treating others civilly and the LEOs do their part. I think it is important to make the city and PD better by pointing out what can be improved, and when spin needs to be reconciled with reality.
> you are still wrong about RPD's priorities regarding residential burglaries.
I wish that were the case.
> Both officers and administration have pushed hard to develop patrol initiatives
> and create public awareness to battle the rise in residential burglaries that have
> plagued all of north Dallas County cities.
I am aware of this; it does not refute my assertion that there is a difference in the level of concern about residential burglaries that RPD has v. what the homeowners have. {Emphasis added to help the reader home in on my assertion}
>Articles have even been posted by the department in the Richardson Today paper
> detailing how citizens can help the police in reducing and reporting suspected
> burglars in addition to education at crime watch meetings in the affected areas.
I stay informed of city publications, RPD suggestions, and crime watch issues so none of the above is new information to me. Again, your argument does not refute my assertion that there is a difference in the level of concern about residential burglaries that RPD has v. what the homeowners have.
I agree with RPD that prevention is the key here. I will go further and say that prevention is critical because the chance that any residential burglary scene will have Crime Scene called to it is exceptionally low, and it is very rare for residential burglars to get caught. In other words, if it doesn't get prevented it won't get solved. For whatever reason.
I am doing this from memory, but I think the Aug 18th arrest was the first time residential burglars were arrested at the scene in the last several months, during which citizens reported ~130 residential burglary incidents.
> The implication that any part of the Richardson Police Department does not take a
> felony offense seriously is flawed and uninformed.
I think you are intentionally misreading or misunderstanding me. I do not claim that RPD doesn't care about residential burglaries or any other crime. I am suggesting that given pressures from above and time constraints on the street something has got to give. The choices that RPD leadership and supervisors make in prioritizing residential burglary cases is not, I am claiming, the same priority that homeowners would assign. That's my last try at explaining it.
> The implication the RPD crime scene unit does not process burglary of habitation
> crime scenes is not only uninformed, its just wrong.
I would gladly review your evidence supporting this claim. Here's how I assessed it for myself.
I have monitored, recorded, and listened to hundreds of hours of COR public service radio transmissions, including RPD. I keep the last (rollling) 10 days on hand in digital format in case I need to refer to it. I keep close tabs on the serious crimes that are reported in my area of Richardson. I can tell you with a high degree of confidence that Crime Scene is very rarely dispatched to residential burglary scenes. Crime Scene is more commonly sent to business burglarly scenes. I do not know why this is so, and I won't try to guess.
People who have asked about this have been told "there's just no evidence to process". That does not ring true to me. It would make no sense that residential burglars are wiley criminals who leave no trace while business burglars leave abundant useful evidence.
The bottom line is that in residential burglary situations Crime Scene is generally not called, even when the homeowner is asking for surfaces to be processed for prints. That, IMO, is evidence of a significant difference in priority. Even if the citizen is dead wrong and the patrolman is completely right it's still a difference in priority.
If you think I am overstating RPD's willingness to shut down residential burglary calls with little post-contact investigation (generally zero detective or Crime Scene investigation), camp out on the crime map and see how long before the residential burglary incident goes INACTIVE. Historically, very few have any kind of PENDING or other status, even if citizens are volunteering information. Many are already marked INACTIVE by the time they show up on the map (generally 2-3 days). Cross-reference the incident with the scanner traffic and see how often Crime Scene is dispatched.
> Rant all you want about the city counsel and mayor, but leave the Richardson
> Police Department out of your politics.
{squinting}
Not sure what my politics are, or what they have to do with residential burglary.
I'll give it one more go. Perhaps I am either too stubborn or naive to know when it is useless to try to explain.
> I'm glad you cleared up the focus of your dissension with the police
> department, but
I am not bagging on the RPD. I think we have a professional and competent bunch of officers on the street. 100% of the officers I have interacted with have been decent guys, competent, professional, and well-intentioned. I can't vouch for the deskjockey, detective, or leadership types because I haven't met many/any of them.
On the other hand I am not a cop worshipper. I do my part by obeying the law and treating others civilly and the LEOs do their part. I think it is important to make the city and PD better by pointing out what can be improved, and when spin needs to be reconciled with reality.
> you are still wrong about RPD's priorities regarding residential burglaries.
I wish that were the case.
> Both officers and administration have pushed hard to develop patrol initiatives
> and create public awareness to battle the rise in residential burglaries that have
> plagued all of north Dallas County cities.
I am aware of this; it does not refute my assertion that there is a difference in the level of concern about residential burglaries that RPD has v. what the homeowners have. {Emphasis added to help the reader home in on my assertion}
>Articles have even been posted by the department in the Richardson Today paper
> detailing how citizens can help the police in reducing and reporting suspected
> burglars in addition to education at crime watch meetings in the affected areas.
I stay informed of city publications, RPD suggestions, and crime watch issues so none of the above is new information to me. Again, your argument does not refute my assertion that there is a difference in the level of concern about residential burglaries that RPD has v. what the homeowners have.
I agree with RPD that prevention is the key here. I will go further and say that prevention is critical because the chance that any residential burglary scene will have Crime Scene called to it is exceptionally low, and it is very rare for residential burglars to get caught. In other words, if it doesn't get prevented it won't get solved. For whatever reason.
I am doing this from memory, but I think the Aug 18th arrest was the first time residential burglars were arrested at the scene in the last several months, during which citizens reported ~130 residential burglary incidents.
> The implication that any part of the Richardson Police Department does not take a
> felony offense seriously is flawed and uninformed.
I think you are intentionally misreading or misunderstanding me. I do not claim that RPD doesn't care about residential burglaries or any other crime. I am suggesting that given pressures from above and time constraints on the street something has got to give. The choices that RPD leadership and supervisors make in prioritizing residential burglary cases is not, I am claiming, the same priority that homeowners would assign. That's my last try at explaining it.
> The implication the RPD crime scene unit does not process burglary of habitation
> crime scenes is not only uninformed, its just wrong.
I would gladly review your evidence supporting this claim. Here's how I assessed it for myself.
I have monitored, recorded, and listened to hundreds of hours of COR public service radio transmissions, including RPD. I keep the last (rollling) 10 days on hand in digital format in case I need to refer to it. I keep close tabs on the serious crimes that are reported in my area of Richardson. I can tell you with a high degree of confidence that Crime Scene is very rarely dispatched to residential burglary scenes. Crime Scene is more commonly sent to business burglarly scenes. I do not know why this is so, and I won't try to guess.
People who have asked about this have been told "there's just no evidence to process". That does not ring true to me. It would make no sense that residential burglars are wiley criminals who leave no trace while business burglars leave abundant useful evidence.
The bottom line is that in residential burglary situations Crime Scene is generally not called, even when the homeowner is asking for surfaces to be processed for prints. That, IMO, is evidence of a significant difference in priority. Even if the citizen is dead wrong and the patrolman is completely right it's still a difference in priority.
If you think I am overstating RPD's willingness to shut down residential burglary calls with little post-contact investigation (generally zero detective or Crime Scene investigation), camp out on the crime map and see how long before the residential burglary incident goes INACTIVE. Historically, very few have any kind of PENDING or other status, even if citizens are volunteering information. Many are already marked INACTIVE by the time they show up on the map (generally 2-3 days). Cross-reference the incident with the scanner traffic and see how often Crime Scene is dispatched.
> Rant all you want about the city counsel and mayor, but leave the Richardson
> Police Department out of your politics.
{squinting}
Not sure what my politics are, or what they have to do with residential burglary.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Notes on the 8/24 council meeting
Work session
* The word "actually" started to annoy me in the Routh Creek Parkway presentation.
BTW, I recently rode the entirety of the trails in that area. Nice ride, but there are some things to be aware of. Some of the corners are blind and bike riders will have to reduce their speed. There are homeless people in the park, though none were doing anything weird/dangerous when I was there. There are several intersecting trails, and the signage is not very good. It would be easy to get turned around if one had no sense of direction. You're not going to get lost, per se, but if you don't pay attention you could easily spend a lot of time backtracking.
* Mr. Omar asks relevant questions in a civil manner. Keep up the good work, sir.
City Council Meeting
* I can corroborate the issue that the Motorcycling gentleman reports (sensors not tripping the lights). I experience this both on motorcycle and bicycle. This is particularly unpleasant if you are at the front of a line of cars. You (and the cars behind you) can't go because your bike won't trip the light.
* looks like the session ran past 10pm. I will program the MythTV box to record until 11pm.
Audio of the session[s]
I pulled the audio out of the 4hr recording and am attempting to post it here. Caveats:
* it's unedited. At the beginning you will hear the buzzy audio off the channel 16 slideshow until the work session begins. You will hear it again between work session and council session.
* I don't plan on editing anything. Next week's will be 5hrs long and I'm not going to trim it if it runs shorter. My ability/willingness to post this stuff is directly related to how much I can automate the process.
* theoretically this means you could subscribe to an xml feed on this blog and get the council meetings and other audio (like the recent burglarly arrest) as a podcast. I don't know the details of how that will work yet. The enclosure is there in the alleged feed location if I look at the raw xml, but not in an RSS reader or podcast catcher. Hmmm. Will play with it.
* The word "actually" started to annoy me in the Routh Creek Parkway presentation.
BTW, I recently rode the entirety of the trails in that area. Nice ride, but there are some things to be aware of. Some of the corners are blind and bike riders will have to reduce their speed. There are homeless people in the park, though none were doing anything weird/dangerous when I was there. There are several intersecting trails, and the signage is not very good. It would be easy to get turned around if one had no sense of direction. You're not going to get lost, per se, but if you don't pay attention you could easily spend a lot of time backtracking.
* Mr. Omar asks relevant questions in a civil manner. Keep up the good work, sir.
City Council Meeting
* I can corroborate the issue that the Motorcycling gentleman reports (sensors not tripping the lights). I experience this both on motorcycle and bicycle. This is particularly unpleasant if you are at the front of a line of cars. You (and the cars behind you) can't go because your bike won't trip the light.
* looks like the session ran past 10pm. I will program the MythTV box to record until 11pm.
Audio of the session[s]
I pulled the audio out of the 4hr recording and am attempting to post it here. Caveats:
* it's unedited. At the beginning you will hear the buzzy audio off the channel 16 slideshow until the work session begins. You will hear it again between work session and council session.
* I don't plan on editing anything. Next week's will be 5hrs long and I'm not going to trim it if it runs shorter. My ability/willingness to post this stuff is directly related to how much I can automate the process.
* theoretically this means you could subscribe to an xml feed on this blog and get the council meetings and other audio (like the recent burglarly arrest) as a podcast. I don't know the details of how that will work yet. The enclosure is there in the alleged feed location if I look at the raw xml, but not in an RSS reader or podcast catcher. Hmmm. Will play with it.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hot Dog Splash @ Terrace Park pool
Some electronics don't like getting wet, and this alarm is no different. To be fair, I don't think he'd ever been in (or seen) a standing body of water. Ex-racing dogs worked rather than played during their early lives.
If I carried him into deeper water his legs stuck out stiffly and he wouldn't paddle. Then he'd start to roll over and panic. Got him to dogpaddle a few strokes but greys have very little body fat and tend to sink. There was another grey there that had learned to swim, albeitly clumsily and with a look of intense concentration on his face.
So we stayed in the shallow part. It was amusing to see the water dogs leap into the pool with wild abandon. Good stuff. There was a Rottie that couldn't swim well wearing a vest. I think he was my favorite there; he was forever putting around the pool like a tugboat.
The event was well-run, and most people obeyed the rules. Dogs were supposed to be on leash if not swimming, but many were not. Young folks were posted at the gate to catch dogs that tried to make a run for it. Various corporate sponsors and volunteer groups with small tent booths.
Event cost was only $5 per dog; I think it benefitted the shelter. I'd say take your dog next year and have some fun.
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